Nakuru: Young people challenged to venture into organic farming
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Agro-ecological lobby groups have challenged young people in Nakuru county to embrace organic farming.
The groups argue that organic farming is the way to go in addressing food security as well as food safety.
This, even as the groups have taken it upon themselves to empower young people venturing into organic farming.
The first ever youth summit (platform to impart knowledge to young people) was held over the weekend in Nakuru’s Mawanga estate with calls on young people to embrace agro-ecological farming systems.
The summit brought together youth from various sub counties of Nakuru among them Gilgil, Molo, Njoro and Bahati.
In an interview, Hannah Wambui- a youth from one of the lobby groups in Nakuru’s Elementaita area of Gilgil Sub County dubbed Seed Savers Network challenged young people to embrace organic farming.
Wambui has been vocal in advocating for quality indigenous seeds that she says can be achieved through farmers embracing seed saving techniques.
“Most young people have had the notion that farming is not classy and that it does not generate income instantly. However, this is not the case and that is why we are going about training young people on the importance of organic farming and seed saving for value addition,” she says.
Sentiments echoed by Beth Omae from Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM) Association-a network of Civil Society Organizations working with Small-scale farmers in East, Central, and Southern Africa notes that young people are key stakeholders in driving agricultural agenda.
According to her, young people in Nakuru County have diverse knowledge in matters of food production that should be tapped.
With the diverse indigenous knowledge, she says plans are on to work closely with young people on how to incorporate the same to the modern agro-ecological farming systems and bio-cultural conservation.
“We are creating that platform for our young people to share ecological and indigenous information that they might have towards enabling production and breaking the barriers that have been there when it comes to young people and agriculture,” says Omae.
Ms Omae challenges young people in Nakuru to embrace agriculture as it has numerous opportunities and space for youth, more so on agro-ecological systems that call for art and science in which the young people are experts.
Sentiments echoed by Mr.Samson Ngugi from Nakuru-based Slow Food Kenya who says communities have rich knowledge in indigenous foods that should not be left to die but rather should be relayed from one generation to another.
According to Ngugi, young people should be sensitized to take up the lead in being custodian of the indigenous knowledge on food.
“A time is coming when we shall be judged by the generations as to why we did not safeguard our indigenous crops. As Slow Food Kenya, we have taken up the first role of partnering with like-minded organizations to sensitize our youth towards the same,” said Ngugi.
The meeting was also attended by Erick Muriuki from Nakuru County Department of Culture and Tourism who stated that food and sustainability through organic farming is the way to go.
While citing the County government’s commitment on agriculture, the officer lauded the lobby groups behind the summit on youth and agriculture as it was a platform to give the young people a mindset.
“When I see young people eager to learn about organic farming I feel proud. These are the kind of programs that we need to elevate agriculture, produce food and also have value addition,” he said.
With a knack for captivating storytelling, Amos Lumbasi has a talent for crafting narratives that resonate with readers. He combines meticulous research with a captivating writing style to create articles that are both informative and enjoyable to read.
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